I was hesitant to post for a while about my new fitness adventure, but here goes nothing. I have taken a leap of faith and signed up for my first triathlon! In September I’m going to do the Iron Girl Rocky Gap sprint triathlon race. Here are the distances: 0.5 mile swim, 16 mile bike, 3 mile run.

I have had mixed emotions running through my head. It took me a good while to talk myself into taking the plunge and when I hit the “sign me up” button I had to close my eyes! But my trepidation is slowly evolving into excitement. Yes, the swim (a lake swim no less) has me nervous. I’ve been in lakes, the bay and the ocean before, just not for a race. I have to keep reminding myself that when I trained for my first marathon it was an arduous process. Each week I added a little more distance and the same goes for swimming. I’m now up to 3 1/2 laps of the pool (175 yards) without stopping, compared to four weeks ago when I could only swim about one length before I was huffing and puffing.

The tri is a whole new beast to conquer from the marathon. For one it’s a three-sport discipline. While training for a marathon was all about logging miles, training for a tri is much more strategic. And yet, the variety is like a breath of fresh air. Each day is a new adventure. My knees too are so much happier and I can tell that swimming and biking is a lot less wear and tear overall on my body.

Unlike running where there is not much involved except for a good pair of shoes, you do need a lot more equipment for tri training. My gear is coming together:

Swim: I ordered my first one-piece swimsuit since I was probably about 14! It’s simple and navy blue. And just the other week my swim cap arrived and now I feel really sleek in the water (not to mention my hair doesn’t get in the way). My new goggles (with some tint for sun protection) are giving me a little trouble in the pool though. They fog up a lot. Any tips? Do I spit in them? Is there a spray I can get? I put them on before I get in the pool, but still they fog. And last but not least, I found some local high schools with pool lanes and invested in a 20-visit pass (I didn’t want to bank on my neighborhood pool always being easy to swim laps in, but it’s there too when I need it).

Bike: My mountain bike got a tune-up with new hybrid tires. I’m going to start with those before I invest in a road bike. I want to make sure it’s something I’d like to continue before making the investment. I bought a cheap helmet a long time ago so now I’m finally actually using it again and I found some bike gloves to match.

Run: I recently bought a new pair of running shoes–Brooks Connect. I am not 100 percent sold because I really liked the Pure Cadence (and am desperately trying to find that same model online, but they seem to be sold out everywhere I look). I am still wearing that pair, but they are really smelly from my bootcamp class and I’d like to have another pair broken in for the race. Otherwise, same old with the running. Not much “gear” you need for this sport!

And last but not least, I have a tri-suit ready for race-day!

Three weeks into training and I feel pretty good! Today I did a marathon–That is a 25 mile bike ride followed by a 1.5 mile run. My first brick workout to see how my legs would feel coming off the bike. It was not as bad as I thought it would be; I was just tired and really sweaty! I celebrated that accomplishment with a good stretch, a delicious omelette, and a relaxing day by the pool.

Here’s to the next few months of training! Any encouragement and tips you have for my new fitness journey are welcomed!

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About mileoneandcounting

I'm a young professional living in the Washington, DC area. Since moving here in 2007 I have honed a passion for running and fitness. Growing up I played soccer and softball (and tested track & field for one year). After college I ran a few 5K races, but running was really only a means to staying in shape for me. Never in my wildest imagination had I thought I'd ever run a marathon, let alone three. Nor did I think I'd get the running bug after doing so, but I'll admit I'm hooked!
Over the years my blog has grown into so much more than a running blog though. Sometimes I have deep thoughts. Other times I'm simply sharing a training story or a review of a product. Here's the place where you'll learn about me through my many adventures--even I enjoy going back to re-read some posts from time to time. I've also been able to hone my love for health and wellness through my business called IDLife which stands for Individually Designed Life. I'd love to help inspire you to live your best life yet so please don't hesitate to reach out to me and may my words resonate with you.
See you on the trails...